More specifically, in January, energy costs continued to fall, down 0.4 percent for the month. Prices for finished energy goods – mostly from gasoline – have declined for four straight months, helping to lowering inflationary pressures. Food costs rose 0.7 percent in January, reversing the 0.8 percent increase in December. The largest contributor to this gain was higher vegetable prices. Outside of energy and food costs, other increases were found in the pharmaceutical sector and with some types of capital equipment.

A similar picture emerges for the manufacturing sector, which has experienced only a 0.7 percent increase in producer prices year-over-year. This is largely due to reduced energy costs, with raw materials for petroleum and coal products manufacturers down 4.4 percent since January 2012. Nonetheless, these costs were 0.9 percent higher in January on crude petroleum prices.

Chad Moutray is chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), where he serves as the NAM’s economic forecaster and spokesperson on economic issues. He frequently comments on current economic conditions for manufacturers through professional presentations and media interviews. He has appeared on Bloomberg, CNBC, C-SPAN, Fox Business and Fox News, among other news outlets.